Online payment is the basic infrastructure of internet finance. In China, online payment is essential for the development of the e-commerce market, as consumers need to complete the entire purchase process through online third-party payment services.
Launched in 2004, Alipay is now the largest third-party payment service provider in China, taking a 47.6% market share in the third-party payment market of China in 3Q15, according to iResearch. In April 2015, Alipay disclosed monthly active users (MAU) at 270 mn, from 190 mn in Oct 2014, with an average of 45 mn daily transactions. We estimate that Alipay has around 500 mn annual active users.
Alipay has established partnerships with
